


Patient Care

by Everie



Category: John Wick (Movies)
Genre: Action, Assassins & Hitmen, BAMF John Wick, Blood, Choking, Death Threats, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Gen, Graphic descriptions of violence, Gun Violence, Jealous John Wick, Knife Violence, Masturbation, Medical Trauma, One Man Army, One-Sided Attraction, Oral Sex, Sexual Tension, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Stabbing, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Threats of Violence, Unresolved Tension, eventual mutual attraction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-10-09 09:23:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10408980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Everie/pseuds/Everie
Summary: "You're not like normal people are you, John?""Define normal?""The total opposite of whatever you are."





	1. Introductions

**Author's Note:**

> I own none of the characters in John Wick, except my own.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexa meets John

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had accidently deleted chapter one of this story and had to rewrite something new. I hadn't made a backup of any of my work. Sorry for the changes. Hopefully it will be for the better.

It was a weird time for the staff of an outpatient clinic in Brooklyn. Things had become unusually busy and they never saw the vast amount of patients they had coming in at any time before. New York city was experiencing a strange occurrence and the city was finding itself becoming a battleground of sorts. Streets were being littered with bodies severely wounded or dead. The Governor of New York had put in a State of Emergency and asked the Government for assistance. The media speculated that this maybe a terrorist attack and that the populace stay indoors until things were under control. Unfortunately for emergency services and other medical staff, every medical personnel in the city had to do their part in taking care of the wounded that were coming in waves. Doctors and nurses were called into work. Outpatient clinics had to become emergency rooms in order to offset the burdens of the city's own emergency systems. Triage centers were being putting up all around the city and needed all the extra manpower.

So on her only day off, Alexa, found herself reluctantly pulling on her scrubs and heading out the door. She received a page from her the Chief Physician of her clinic that her expertise would be needed. She grabbed her pack from her closet and grabbed her keys from a hook. She scrolled through her smart phone as she descended down her apartment's elevator. She greeted the doorman at the front entrance and waited at the valet for her vehicle. Her car was pulled up to the front, without a glance to the valet boy, she walked past him, and climbed into her car. Her car synced up to her phone and music was blaring out of her car's speakers. She shifted into drive and accelerated out into the streets.

Alexa was a Nurse Practitioner who specialized in wound care. With the high turnover of patients coming in with severe wounds; her expertise would be needed at a time like this. So, she sped through intersections without so much as a three second pause, and made her way to the clinic. She parked her car without any finesse and got out of her vehicle quickly. At the back entrance she was greeted by other nurses and a doctor asking her what would be appropriate treatments for which patient that came in. She tuned them and refused to acknowledge any of them until she reached her office. Even then though she slammed the door behind her. The staff knew better than to barge into her office once the door was closed. Alexa had a system in place. If her door was open then anyone was free to come in and report to her. If her door was closed it was a different story. She had in the past made seasoned doctors cry for ignoring that simple fact.

She sat at her desk and reminded herself to place her belongings in the staff locker room when she got a chance. She let out a deep breath and began to prepare herself mentally for the cases that would be brought before her today. She was going to need every ounce of energy and focus for today's tasks and now was not the time to start complaining about it. She turned on her computer and began to respond to the endless e-mails she received. After a few moments she heard knocks on her door and knew it was time to step out to face the day. She got up and smoothed her scrubs down. She walked to a coat rack and pulled on her white lab coat. With a hand on the door knob she let another deep breath out before turning it.

* * *

The city was growing dark as the day was drawing to a close. Sirens could be heard from all parts of the city and John was making sure he was faraway from any of it. He hobbled to an alley and found himself slumping against the wall. He was was reaching his limits and starting to feel the fatigue in his body. He spent the day running and defending himself from all the attacks he was receiving. He was getting little breaks now and then when other assassins would compete against each other to get a chance at taking him out. He found himself running more and defending himself less often. Which was good thing considering how badly wounded he was. Knife wounds to his hands and abdomen. A bullet grazing his shoulder.

John walked out of the alley, knowing that he needed medical assistance at this point. If it hadn't been for his excomunicado, he would have been able to be attended to by one of The Continental's Physicians. It was not an option he could take for himself unless he wanted to face The Continental's own assassins. On his best day he would be up for it, but not in the current state he was in now. He walked for awhile until he found himself at the front entrance of a clinic. He found a long coat discarded nearby and he tried to disguise himself enough not to be noticeable to any passerby's, just in case someone would alert anyone of his presence. He presented himself the best he could as a homeless man and walked in. The place was crowded enough to his liking that nobody would give him a second glance. He checked himself in and gave them a fake name. The staff didn't even bother to confirm his identity, partly due to the fact that they were filled to the brim with other patients. He sat at the waiting room and scouted to make sure that any of the assassin he encountered today weren't in here as well. Satisfied that there wasn't anyone he recognized, John closed his eyes, and waited to be called. The clinic was starting to empty out and his name had yet to be called. Another half hour passed by and there was no longer any sunlight out. Nightfall had set in before his name was called. He was put into another room and was made to wait again. All was silent until he heard foot steps walk closer to his location. There was a knock on the door before someone entered into his room.

A slender and petite woman walked in carrying a clipboard with some paper attached to it. He watched as her eyes quickly scanned the page before she looked up at him with tired eyes. She made her way to the sink and washed her hands before offering it to him to shake. He begrudgingly took into her hand and shook it. For woman that looked delicate her hands were surprisingly rough to the touch. She pulled her hand quickly away from him and grabbed gloves off the wall. She snapped them on to her hands and gave him a hawk like stare.

"Good evening, Mr. Arno. My name is Alexa and I will be your nurse that will be assisting you today," she looked up at him and smiled, "You're the last patient on the unit so let's get this started?"

John could tell the smile was forced. The smile didn't reach her eyes and he could tell the woman was forcing herself to finish this clinic visit with him. She gestured for him to get undressed from the waist up. He slowly removed his coat and placed it next to him on the exam table. During this time she had her back to him and when she turned to see him she was taken a back. He presented himself as a homeless man, but the man before her was not what he perceived to be. He was groomed nicely save for the beard and stubble presented on his face. His hair was long, but clean. What caught her attention were the myriad of scars that covered his body; he had lacerations over his hands, arms, and abdomen. She sucked in a breath and slowly made her way towards him. She assessed the wounds that covered his body and began to think about her plan of care. She rummaged into her cart drawer and brought out her supplies.

"This might sting a bit since your wounds are deep. I'll need to clean them to assess any further," she informed him.

He gave her the slightest nod to continue. She sprayed his wounds with a wound cleanser and he winced at the pain. His cuts felt like there were one fire. She worked carefully and softly on him to lessen the discomfort he was feeling. She cleaned up the blood that was caked on and applied an antibiotic ointment on cuts that were superficial on the skins surface. She ripped the sterile packaging of her supplies and began to apply gauze pads on the deeper wounds. She noticed that he was recently stitched up on his side and that they were coming undone. She moved to touch it and he grabbed her hand so quickly she was unaware at first.

"That needs to be redone completely," she advised.

He gave an exasperated sigh, "Is there anyone you can just fix it. I need to keep moving."

She gave him a hard look and gave a sarcastic chuckle. He knew she didn't think what he suggested was funny and she probably thought he was dumb for it, but he was already in one spot for too long and it would only be a matter of time before he was caught up to. "I really don't have time for this."

She crossed her arms over her chest and furrowed her brows in frustration, "No, I refuse to do a half ass job," he almost cracked a smile at her candor, "I can staple it together for you for now with what I have," she responded with a raised brow.

John raked his hand across his face and pushing it through his hair. He could just threaten her to do what he wanted, but that would also have it drawbacks. It didn't seem like this woman would be compliant when forced. "That's fine. I just need you to be quick."

She gathered more supplies and set to work. It was silent between them two and she was not used to working in those conditions. She didn't seem like a chatty person, but talking with her patients helped the time past. "Your name isn't really Arno, is it," she asked skeptically.

He smirked slightly and turned his face away from her. He looked quite handsome with just the twitch of his lips forming that tiny hint of a smile. She found herself staring at him, but realizing how inappropriate she was being with a patient. Granted he was a very handsome patient; he was a patient nonetheless. She turned her gaze away and quickly turned her attention back to her work. He wasn't much of a talker which wasn't going to help this go any faster for the both of him. She resolved herself and decided that he was going to have to talk to her to ease the silence.

"C'mon, that name seems to belong to someone who would look like a total creep," she teased.

It didn't seem like she was going to give up anytime soon so he decided to humor her, "No, it's not."

Now she was getting somewhere. Curiosity got the better of her and she decided to push forward with more questioning. "So what is your name?"

"It's not important for you to know it," he answered quickly.

She was becoming slightly put off by his evasiveness. Why would this man not want her to know his name?

"So we're going to be Mr. Mysterious right now," she continued to tease.

He pushed back with, "Yeah, we'll go with that."

She huffed and continued to wrap his arm with a kerlix dressing. She intentionally made sure that she was a little rough and tightened the dressing more than necessary. She reserved her nice bedside care for nicer patients. This man was a bit on the infuriating side.

"It would be important for me to know. What if I need order you supplies or medications? I'm going to need your name and an address," she replied back, thinking she got him with that question.

He sighed deeply and looked at her with a irritated glance, "You're really pushy."

"I'm sorry, I'll try and hold my tongue," she bit back. 

It became silent between the two of them again. She wanted to ask more about him, but he seemed standoffish to her attempts. So busied herself and tried to concentrate harder. She wondered what this mad did for a living. From what she gathered through her musing was that this man had to be involved in something very dangerous. She was sure these scars on his body had very interesting stories to tell. Alexa was finding herself becoming too distracted by this enigma that was _"Mr. Arno"_. 

 


	2. Urgent Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexa and John get to know each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of updates. Real life has been in the forefront of my mind. Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.

Alexa heard his breathing regulate into a soft and steady pace. Her patient had fallen asleep while she began to undo his stitches. She still made attempts to engage him conversation, but they were squashed when he closed his eyes, shutting himself from her. She should be used to limited interactions anyway. She was starting to make friends again, building new relationships, going on dates. She thought she was doing well for herself given her emotional circumstances.

She was cleaning up her supplies and throwing away dirty gauze, when she heard someone break into the front door of the clinic. The sound of glass breaking could be heard from the exam room. Alexa's heart felt like it was pumping out of her chest and she felt her body tremble all over. She rushed to the man’s bedside and started to shake him awake. He quickly woke from his slumber and grabbed tightly on her upper arms. She winced in pain and let out a soft yelp. He quickly surveyed his surroundings and reoriented himself to his situation. He looked up at the person he had a hold on and recognized that she wasn't there to hurt him. He loosened his grip on her and slowly brought an index finger to his mouth to tell her to shush. She nodded her head slowly and waited for him to tell her anything.

“They’re only here for me. If you can keep yourself quiet and out of sight, you won’t get caught,” he motioned for her to crouch to the ground and she responded quickly.

She thought to herself why would there be people after him? Who was this man? What did he get her into with him walking into this clinic. She just wanted to be done with her day, close up shop, and head on home for a nice hot bath. She had herself all set up too with her Lush bath bombs waiting for her to just plop right into her bath water. She had her candles all set up with a bottle of her favorite white wine chilling in her fridge. 

She watched as he swung his legs off the exam bed and placed his feet carefully onto the floor. He crouched low and made his way to the doorway with his hand gripping the handle of the gun he tucked away. She watched him and couldn’t help noticing how predatory like he was. From the door way he scanned both sides of the hallway before stepping out and disappearing from her view. She held her breath and hoped it would calm her enough to make her escape. He was right, whatever he was involved in; she didn’t want any part of it. Danger seemed to follow him and she had no interest in getting caught in the cross-fire.

She heard struggling and then gun shots. She sprinted out of the exam room and into the hallway with her head ducked down. She needed to rush into the locker room and grab her keys. It was a good thing she decided to bring her car today. Gun shots started firing behind and she did not have the courage to look back at who was shooting. She continued to run and then slide to locker room door. She pulled it open and slammed it behind her. A bullet went through the door and barely missing her by a few inches. She pushed herself away from the door and ducked into a stall. Moments later the door creaked open and she heard someone step inside. She heard the turn of a heel and then footsteps heading opposite from her hiding spot. Alexa peeked over to check where the person was heading. She cursed her luck when she noted that they were heading close to her locker. Her chances of survival were running low. She needed to come up with a plan and fast. Alexa noted the empty toilet paper roll next to her. She removed the cardboard roll and grabbed a hold of the plastic holder. She had only once chance to throw this right to make enough of a diversion to get them running where she needed them to.

She waited with a held breath for a few moments, pulled back her arm, and threw the plastic holder against one of the lockers. Footsteps hurried towards the source of the sound as she rushed toward her locker. Her heavy footfalls on the tiled floor reverberated through her and she could feel the pounding in her ears. The gunmen heard her running and quickly gave chase to her. Alexa spun her combination lock quickly and grabbed her back as fast as she could. Before she could turn around and bolt out of there, she was grabbed and thrown on to another locker. Her head and back banged off the metal before she fell to the floor. Her head was in so much pain and the room started spinning in her vision. She knew she suffered a minor concussion and there was no way she would be able to fight against her attacker at this point. The person grabbed her by the hair and brought Alexa to her feet. The person pulled her head back and forced her to look at them.

Through her limited vision she could was able to notice that the person who had a hold on her was a woman. She had her blonde hair pulled into a tight ballerina bun. The woman’s blue eyes bore into her Hazel ones. Her features were sharp in contrast to Alexa’s softness. The woman’s makeup was applied on heavily and her lipstick was the color of red wine. The woman sneered at Alexa as she sized her up as she brought other hand to grip Alexa’s chin forcefully. She tutted as she waggled her index finger in a no motion to her.

“Naughty girl, where is Mr. Wick,” she asked with a purr.

Alexa glared at her and did her best to lie, “I don’t know who the fuck you’re talking about lady. It’s just me in here.”

The woman wrenched her fist and tugged at her hair to illicit a different response from her, “Don’t lie to me, I know he is here!”

She grunted under the pain and felt something warm trickle down her neck. She must have gotten injured from being thrown against the locker. She would need to assess the bleeding later. She needed to focus on getting out of here.

“Okay, I’ll take you to him,” she groaned.

The woman smiled a predatory like grin and kissed Alexa gently on the cheek. “That’s better, my little dear.”

Before she could lead the way, the woman brought out her pistol, and then gestured for Alexa to keep moving as she pointed the barrel of the gun to the back of her head. Alexa began to slowly make her way out of the locker room and back into the hallway with the woman two steps behind her.

“Mr. Wick, I have your little friend here with me. Come out and let me collect my bounty,” the woman was cautious with the steps she took and was aware of her surroundings, “You must be getting tired. You can’t keep running forever,” she cooed.

Alexa was able to spot a figure dart by before her captor could. If this was the Mr. Wick she was referring to, the man that helped her earlier, she was going to do her best to distract this woman long enough for the man to subdue her.

“I don’t think he is here anymore. Can you please let me go? I won’t tell anyone I saw you and whatever it is you people do. I just don’t want to be part of this anymore. I just want to go home,” Alexa began to plead.

The woman hit Alexa against the back of her head with the handle of her gun to shut her up. She once again fell to the floor and made no moves to get up. Growing frustrated with her, the woman went to grab at her again by the hair, but she failed to notice that Alexa grabbed a shard of glass off the floor. She twisted around and started slashing at the hands that tried to grab her. The woman shrieked in pain and delivered a kick to Alexa’s stomach. She got winded from the blow and made no more attempts to attack the blonde woman.

“That was a very stupid thing you did,” she cocked the hammer of her gun back and pointed it to Alexa’s chest. She closed her eyes and waited for her to pull the trigger.

Suddenly both she and the woman were on the floor and the woman was attacked by Mr. Wick. The woman quickly got back to her bearings and fired at Mr. Wick. He seemed to falter for just a moment, but continued to attack the woman. They traded blow after blow with him looking like he had the upper hand. Alexa watched and did not make any moves to try and intervene. She would be more in the way than anything if she were to get involved now. He struck the woman multiple times to her head and torso with no signs that she would be taken down easily. The woman delivered a stealthy stab to his torso and he grimaced in pain. He flipped them both backwards and had the woman in a headlock. The woman struggled against his hold, but fatigue started to set in. She could no longer fight against him and Alexa heard the sickening break of her neck as the man twisted her head at an odd angle.

He dropped her body to the floor and took a moment to catch his breath. He winced from the pain from the knife wound. Alexa crawled to his side and went to assess the damage.

“You need to get out of here. There will be more of them after me,” he breathed heavily.

She pretended to not hear him as she tended to his new wound. He did not have the energy to stop her or to try and get off the floor. He felt the room spin and knew the blood loss was getting to him. He tried to plead to her to leave, but no sound came from his throat. She watched as he slowly drifted away from consciousness and she found herself holding him so he didn’t hit the floor. He would need a blood and more medical care than she could offer at this point. She debated with herself on what she needed to do. She could leave him here to die and call the police and explain what had happened here, or she could pack him into her car and take him where he could be treated properly with a facility that could take care of his injuries.

She stared at him for a few moments and silently debated on what she knew was the right thing to do. She knew she was going to regret this in the morning, but she pulled him up and dragged him to her vehicle parked in the back. She loaded him into her backseat and made sure things were in order. She got into the driver’s seat and started her engine. She had to call in a favor, but she needed to repay this guy back. He probably won’t be happy with her after he comes to, but she would deal with that later. She wasn’t going to let him die. Not while she was around to prevent it.

 


	3. Admission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John is not happy with Alexa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that this took so long update. Hope you guys enjoy. I will be watching John Wick 2 for more inspiration.

Alexa drove quickly through the streets of New York. She knew time was working against her and the smell of blood was a strong indication that she needed to pick up the pace. She could see the pool forming underneath his body twinkle from the street lights they passed by. She ran red lights and almost hit a pedestrian crossing the street. Lucky for her the New York police were responding to calls all over the city. What she didn’t know was that all the commotion was caused by the name she had in the back of her car. She heard his groan and knew that it was good sign that he was starting to become alert. She took a moment at a stop light to check on her ward in the backseat. He was clutching the wound at his side and cursed under his breath. He took a moment to take in his surroundings and made a move to get up.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she gave him a disapproving stare as he struggled to pull himself up into a sitting position, “With the amount of blood you’ve lost, there will be no way for your body to carry you out of here, so don’t even think about jumping out this car.”

If he had it in him, he would have smirked at her authoritative tone, but he was hurting, and was in no condition to joke with her. He settled himself back into a lying position and added pressure to his bleeding wound. He felt himself drifting out of unconsciousness again and was fighting to stay awake.

“Stay with me, Mr. Wick. We’re almost there. Stay with me!”

He doesn’t know why he tells her, maybe losing so much blood has affected his judgement, but he tells her his name, “Its John.”

It takes her a few minutes to register that he has given his name to her.

She sighs heavily and nods in affirmation. “Stay with me, John. I need you to stay awake for me. Can you do that?”

She sees in her review mirror that he is unable to answer her, but she knows that he will try his best to keep himself alert. She steps down onto the gas pedal and launches them further into the city.

 

* * *

 

 

 She parked at the front entrance of the ER and darts out of her car and into the waiting rooms front desk. The receptionist instantly recognizes here and beckons for her to come to her desk. Alexa smooths her hands down her uniform to remove any traces of wrinkles. She brushed her fingers through her hair to tame it appropriately before she approached the check-in desk.

“I haven’t seen you in years, Alexa. What brings you here,” the receptionist questioned.

“I can’t really talk, Tanya. I have a white male, estimating in his early forties. He has multiple trauma wounds; he has lost a large amount of blood and will need a blood transfusion. I need Dr. Stanton,” she asked frantically.

"Let me call one of the charge nurses-" she replied hesitantly

Alexa had no time to deal with another nurse. She walked passed Tanya and made her way onto the ER unit. A nurse she didn't recognize stood in front of her, preventing her from moving further.

"Can I help you," she asked briskly.

"I'm looking for Dr. Daniel Stanton. I have a trauma patient that needs to be seen by him only," she pushed.

"Well Miss, we need to triage him and assess."

"He doesn't have time for that right now. I can give you a report if need be, but I'm taking him to Dr. Stanton. Get out of my way!"

The nurse began to block her way and asked staff to escort her out. Alexa saw Daniel come out of an exam room and look her way since she was causing stir. She waved both her hands in the air to signal him towards her. It took a minute for him to realize that it was her and hurried towards them.

"It's okay, Crystal. I got this. I've been expecting her," interrupting the squabble between Alexa and the nurse.

If she wasn't a mature woman, she would have blown the nurse a raspberry, and gave her _the I told you so_ look. It wasn't a great time at the moment to lower herself to school yard teasing, she had a possibly dying patient in the backseat of her car. Alexa motioned for Daniel to follow her back outside. Daniel instructed the nurse to grab a stretcher and prepare a room for an emergency surgery. Daniel then followed closely at her heels.

"White male, appears to be in his early forties, sustained multiple lacerations on upper torso and bilateral arms. Has multiple trauma wounds to the torso, possible gun shot wound, and witnessed knife wound to the abdomen," she reported to him as they hurried to her car, "I haven't had any time to check his vital signs, but no signs of shock at this time. He did have moments of unconsciousness, but he has been able to remain alert most of the ride here. He has some major bleeding that I've been able to staunch with pressure, but he may need a blood transfusion."

Daniel took mental notes as they walked out of the ER waiting room and towards her car. They were followed closely from behind with nurses bringing out a stretcher. Alexa paused midway in her steps and stuck out an arm to stop Daniel from going further. He looked at her confused, but she motioned for him to stay where he was.

"This guy isn't keen on strangers. Let me talk to him first and I'll let you know when he is ready."

Daniel nodded his head and gestured for her to go on ahead. Alexa took a deep breath and knew that this conversation wasn't going to go easy. She opened the passenger door of her car, pulled the front seat back, and peered into the dark cabin. John sat up when he noticed it was her and did not look happy with her.

"Don't give me that look. I had to do what was right. There was no way I would have been able to patch you back together in that place."

He gave her a stern look, but before he could say anything she interrupted him promptly, "I don't want to hear it. I may not be a doctor, but I'm a nurse who can see that you loss a huge amount of blood and you got wounds that need to be treated."

"Well, do the best that you can with me and I'll go on my way. It won't be safe for me to stay here, people are after me, you know the type I _attract_ ," he told her with a sense of urgency in his tone.

"I'll admit you as a John Doe. I'm pretty sure they are a dozens of them admitted with that pseudo. If need be, I'll lie on your admission records about your appearance, and what not to hide you away."

He gave her a puzzled look. Why was this woman going to these lengths to get him some medical care? Him being in her presence has already put her in danger and having him in this hospital would put other people's lives at risk. He maybe a killer, but he wasn't going to drag other people that didn't need to be involved in his problems. He made moves to get out of her car, but she stopped him with a hand to his leg. He looked up at her and saw the concern in her eyes. She had these dark chocolate eyes that were boring into him. Staring into her eyes was giving him a sense of calm that he hadn't felt in awhile. This wasn't good. He needed to break eye contact with her, now. He made moves to leave her car, but she stopped him in his tracks.

"I can't let you do that, John," before he could even react she slammed a needle into his buttock and injected him with something.

He started to feel woozy in an instance and whatever he was trying to tell her was slurred. The car was spinning in his vision and the voices he heard were being muffled. He felt himself being dragged out of the car and placed onto something. He felt a soft touch against his forehead and a warm breath against his ear.

"Now you don't really have a choice," she whispered into his ear as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Sorry I had to do that, John. You'll probably hate me when this is all over, but please don't kill me for trying to save your life."

He moaned in response and she followed the stretcher. She wasn't going to let him out of her sight and she was going to do whatever she could to help John out. She knew she was crazy for doing this. She knew it was better for her to head back home and wash her hands of this mess, but her gut instinct kept her at his side. She drew in a long breath and continued walking with the stretcher to the unknown. His eyelids slowly closed and he felt his body become weightless. 

 

* * *

 

 

 John welcomed the darkness that enveloped him. It was soothing and peaceful. He needed that peace after such a chaotic month. He hadn't had a moment's rest since the day Viggo's son had **_forced_** him out of retirement. He thought it had been all over, until Santino came to ask him to return the _"favor"_. In order for John to live happily without his past coming back to haunt him, he asked the devil himself to assist him with his impossible task. If he had known that Santino would force him to make good on his promise, he contracted John to kill one Santino's sister, Gianna, one of the heads of The High Table.

In hindsight it was stupid of him to think that Santino would not use his Marker. Santino was a cold and calculating man. He would do whatever he could to reach the top. If that meant killing his own flesh and blood, well that was a sacrifice he was willing to take. But always thinking one step ahead and never one to get his own hands bloodied. Santino asked the Boogeyman to undertake the hit.

A job was a job to John and if killing Gianna was going to get Santino off his back for good, then he would do it. He could always come back for Santino later and make him suffer for the trouble he put him through. He thought about it on his way to meet Santino. So many items that he could use as a weapon to exact his own brand of justice on the sniveling brat. All good things come to those who wait, though.

It cause John a lot of trouble to finally get his hands on that conniving demon. His mind played the scene out for him. He was back at the Continental again. Winston with a pleading look towards him. Santino seated at his table with a smug expression on his face. Oh, how John wanted to wipe that smugness right off him. He goaded and provoked John to kill him on neutral ground, but Santino was very wrong to think the Boogeyman wouldn't come to collect his soul. He watched the moment he pulled the trigger and extinguished the life out of the bastard. He didn't care what the repercussions would be at the time. Whatever he had left to live for was buried six feet underground. There was nothing holding him back. But in true John fashion, he wouldn't make it easy for just any assassin to take him down. If he was going to go down, he was going to do it fighting until his last breath. He would kill anyone that would come after him until he didn't have it in him anymore.

He thought that the time was drawing near when he ended up in that clinic. He didn't feel like he was ready to go down so easily. He had given himself a few months at least. Every available assassin and hitmen in the New York City area was ready to take on his bounty and earn the bragging rights that they took down The Legend. John thought that his age was probably starting to catch up with him and he was amused by the thought that time was the one against him all along. He felt so invincible for so long that he thought nothing or no one could touch him. He had some close calls, but he was always quicker, smarter, and more skillful than others. It's how he earned his moniker, Baba Yaga. 

Well if Death was finally here to claim him. He would welcome it. He often danced on the precipice of Life and Death. Maybe the dance had finally come to it's end. The music had stopped and it was now time to go home. He just hoped that Helen was there waiting for him. Then  ** _SHE_** got involved. All he wanted was to get patched up before he went back to face what else The High Table wanted to send his way. A big part of John wanted to just ignore what was going on and chalk it up to her being unfortunate that she caught got in this mess. A nagging feeling bothered him and he couldn't push back the feeling any longer. So without taking another moment to think about it any longer. He saved her and cemented that her life would be in danger from the moment he did so.

Oh, how he was regretting it now. Not only was she stubborn and assertive as hell. She took him to a public hospital where his presence would endanger everyone in the place. She also had the audacity to stick him with a sedative. John was surprised she was even able to get pass his guards and inject him. He must be getting soft at his age. It would be the last time he underestimated that woman. When he comes to, he wasn't going to let her get her way again. He was going to have to get out of there as soon as he could. There won't be another chance for Alexa to get the better of him. At least he hoped there wouldn't be. 

 

* * *

 

 

Alexa sat opposite of John on another hospital bed. He was hooked up to IV lines and a blood pressure cuff that checked his blood pressure every hour. He just came off the every 30 minute interval once she thought he was stable enough after the surgery. It seemed touch and go during the procedure, but she was there to make sure that Daniel put his all into it. She watched from outside the surgical room and didn't leave her spot throughout the four hour procedure. She was now running on no sleep for almost twenty four hours.  

She questioned herself during that time why she was going through the trouble of making sure this guy was going to make it out alive. She had only known John for a couple of hours, since then her life had been put in danger; several times, and it was all because of him. She shook her head at the absurdity of the situation. She could have just left him to die there. What she should have done was run the moment she had an opportunity to do so, but she couldn't. Her body stayed glued to that place and she stayed to help him. She knew deep inside that if she didn't stay with him, he was going to die that night, and that wasn't something she wanted to carry with her. Yes, she could have minded her own business, but she was stubborn.

She slowly got up and walked towards his bedside. She monitored his breathing then turned her attention to the IV bags hanging on the piggyback. She was interrupted by Johns groaning and she turned her eyes at him. His eyes slowly fluttered open and he stared at the ceiling. Realization dawn on him and he tried to sit up from the bed. He found himself unable to move and strapped down on to the bed. He whipped his head to the side and caught Alexa staring back at him with a hard stare. She could see that he was infuriated with her, but she wasn't going to be intimidated by him.

"I might consider asking them to remove the restraints early if you comply," she gave him a skeptical look before proceeding, "I see though that you have no intentions on making this easy for yourself," she gave a nonchalant shrug and slowly made her way towards the door of his room.

John pulled at his arm restraints and glared at her. She had to be out of her mind to think that keeping him here was going to be safe. The people after him weren't above entering a hospital to get to him. No one was going to stop them from getting to him and collecting the bounty. This woman had no idea what trouble she was getting herself into. She was putting herself and anyone else in this building in harms way. John continued to pull at his wrists and found that he was too weak to free himself. He caught her looking at him with an amused look on her face. He did not appreciate the fact that she found amusement in his turmoil.

"People are going to die, because you're too stubborn to realize that my presence here puts everyone at risk," he scowled her with clenched teeth.

She scoffed at his attempt to chastise her and rolled her eyes for measure. She walked towards the end of his bed and crossed her arms over her chest. If he was going to try and persuade her otherwise, she was ready to hear every excuse in the book. They stared each other down and he finally looked away due to all the frustration he had been feeling towards her. The woman was infuriating and it did not help that she had brown eyes like Helen's. Wait, when did he notice the color of her eyes? John didn't have time to ponder the fact, because someone had crashed into his hospital room's window.

Alexa quickly covered herself and dropped down to the floor, while there she undid the his restraints on her side of the bed. John felt the release of the cuff on his wrist and he quickly whipped the restraint across the room to throw the attacker off guard. This bought him a few precious seconds to undo the other restraint. He pulled off the wires on him and pulled out his IV. Alexa cringed at the sight of it. John rolled off the bed and onto the floor, grappling the assassin by the leg, and bringing them onto the floor. John dealt blows to the person's abdomen and chest and knocking them breathless. He twisted himself around and held him in a hold. The person struggled against him and started to hit John where ever they could. One of the blows struck John at his surgical site. John's vision became blinding white at the pain he felt. He lost his focus and then found himself at the mysterious person's mercy. John knew he was still too weak to do anything at this point.

Alexa watched in horror from her position on the floor. She thought John would be able to handle himself like before, but she saw as he got hit where he only received surgery only a few hours ago. Without a moments hesitation, she launched herself at the supply car in the room. She hastily punched the numbers to unlocked it and hoped that the code hadn't changed since she left. She heard the unmistakable click of the cart unlocking. She pulled out the second drawer and pulled out a scalpel. She slid it across the floor to John felt it hit his hand. He grabbed for it and struck the person in the neck multiple times. She watched as blood spurted like a fountain out of the person's neck. She heard the gurgling of the person choking on their own blood. John was being covered in it. She hadn't seen that amount of blood in awhile. She stared unblinking as the person's body twitched and then cease all together. She felt sick to her stomach and felt like she was going to vomit. John dragged himself to her and shook her from her reverie. She smacked his hand away from her and felt herself losing it.

"I need to get out of here and I'm going to need your help," he told her in a ragged whisper.

She nodded her head in agreement and tried to compose herself. She grabbed her bag and went to the cart. She filled her bag with medical supplies. She still needed medications for him and looked at him with worry in her eyes, "I'm going to need antibiotics and other stuff. I don't have access to the med room anymore. No one is going to let me in to those rooms."

John pointed at the body and she knew that she would have to search the body for something. She begrudgingly made her way towards the corpse and then searched the pockets. She pulled out a gun and slid that over John's way. He grabbed it and checked the clip for ammo. It was loaded and ready. She slid him additional clips which he quickly deposited into her bag. She found a cell phone and hurriedly slid it into her pocket. For a moment she looked remorsefully at the body. She was able to get a good look and noticed that he was young. He didn't look no older than twenty. She was at the verge of tears until she felt a touch on her arm. She looked to see John giving her a stern look and gestured for her to get up. There wasn't a time for words. She needed to get him out of here and out of her life.  


	4. Discharge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John discharges from the hospital.

The screaming of nurses and patients were heard all over the floor of the Post-Op unit. Patients were ducking into any rooms that were available and medical staff were locking themselves into their supply rooms. The reason for the chaos was a man had armed himself and taken someone hostage. He was dressed in a hospital gown and held his female hostage at gun point. He held her securely onto him with an arm draped across her neck. The woman seemed to struggle against him and attempted to pull away, but he held her tightly to him and pushed the barrel of the gun to her head. The gesture kept him compliant for the most part.

But if anyone were to observe carefully at the controlled movements of the man and woman. They would notice that every move was being performed with the utmost precision. Every action was made conscientiously with no hesitation. He would silently whisper directions into the ear closest to him. He was guiding her with his motions as if they were performing an intricate waltz. She gave him slight cues, shrug of a shoulder that looked as if she was pulling away, but was actually gesturing at the direction of the medication room. He paid close attention to her and guided them both to where they needed to go with no one being the wiser that she was assisting him in obtaining supplies for him.

She nudged him with her elbow to grab his attention as her eyes darted at a nurse hiding under a desk. She focused her stare at the access badge dangling from the nurse's chest. He followed her gaze and spotted what she was bringing his attention to. He moved briskly to the nurse and pointed the gun towards them. The nurse cowered in fear and began sobbing. He ducked, bringing Alexa with him; down to the nurse's level, and grabbed the badge. He wasn't met with any retaliation and he was glad for that. He was in no mood and had no time for any struggles. He brought the both of them back up and held Alexa against him again.

"Where's the med room," he threatened with the gun once again pointed at her.

She seemingly moved reluctantly towards the direction of the unit's medication room. He paid close attention to his surroundings and noting that no one was making moves to alert security or police. They made it towards the room without anyone getting in their way. John slid the key card through the security slot and a tiny green dot appeared allowing them to enter. He shoved Alexa carefully inside and stood at the doorway to prevent anyone from looking in. As soon as she entered she frantically began searching for the items she needed. She took the Emergency med kit and shoved it into her bag. She moved to the electronic medication cart and punched a code. They hadn't removed her access and she was able to take out even more medications. She was able to stock on pain and antibiotic medications. At the last minute she grabbed some IV bags and shoving them once again into her pack. John whistled to signal her that she needed to wrap it up and get out of there. She made her way towards him and they assumed their previous position of captor and hostage.

"I need to go into one more room to get my supplies to dress your wounds," she hissed quietly to him.

John contemplated if they had enough time for this. In the space of time that they were in the med room someone would have been able to call the police. If the police were called he would bet that other assassins would also be listening in. He weighed out the pros and cons. They could stop by at another clinic and gather the necessary items, but that required stopping again. No, they had to continue to with no more delays. He pushed her onward and she led him to another room. She slid the key card once again and she went in to gather her supplies. As John waited patiently for Alexa he made sure to keep his attention to his surroundings. He felt something was off and quickly ducked down. A rain of bullets above stuck the wall he had previously been positioned at.

John rolled at placed himself at the nurses station. He heard footsteps making their way towards. He needed the element of surprise and he got just that when they had failed to notice him crouched low to the ground. He pulled them down and commenced to break their neck. They didn't die as quietly as he hoped and others were alerted to his location. Shots were fired his way once again and John had to use up whatever energy reserves left to fend off the attackers.

People began screaming and running towards the exits. This offered John a good cover and he began picking off his attackers one by one. He approached them with cold precision and fired his gun at them with flawless accuracy. Alexa watched as John was defending himself and saw one man get shot in the head and red mist appeared behind his head. More of them began filing into the unit and Alexa believed that John was quickly becoming outnumbered. He continued to shoot until he found himself running low on ammo. He spotted one of them close enough to disarm and he was able to with such ease. It shouldn't have been so easy, but he was guessing The High Table were starting to run out of their best people. John lost focused for a moment and found himself disarmed by a different assailant. Alexa watched helplessly as John continued to fight. He had nothing in his possession to keep going and succeed. His arm was twisted behind his back at an odd angle and it made Alexa's skin crawl. She watched helplessly from where she hid wanting to do something, but knew she would just get in the way and make things worse. 

John grimaced as he let out a strangled cry as more forced was pushed down on his arm. He knew they were attempting to break or at least dislocate his arm to render him incapacitated. He searched frantically around him to search for anything to give him a slight upper hand. It was either sheer dumb luck or the universe was being quite generous with him today. A pen decided to roll it's way and stop right on his foot. He grabbed it with a free hand and stabbed with such force on the stomach of his attacker. When one stab didn't work he unleashed a flurry of stabs concentrating on one spot. The dress shirt soon had a dark red patch blossoming and the attacker began to stumble backwards away from John. He took the opportunity to strike the attacker with a forceful blow to the head with pen in hand. Down went he went and Alexa could see the body twitching on the floor. Most likely seizing at the trauma dealt. The group of men stared at John and became hesitant to approach him. John maintain his guard and awaited for one of them to make a move. 

One of them rushed towards John with knife in hand. John dodge and blocked the strikes. He stabbed him in the thigh and the attacker was brought down to his knees. John then lodged the pen into the mans ear with a hard strike. Blood spurted out of the man's ear and Alexa felt queasy at the sight. The morale of the other men began to falter and they made their escape out of the unit. John was able to grab one of them before all of them had fled. He disposed this one in the same manner as the other two and there was another body twitching on the ground. John collapsed on the ground and began to breath heavily. Overexertion was very present on his features. Alexa came out of her shelter and approached John. She grabbed the arm that still had his IV port in place. She dug into her pack and attached a line to his port. She pulled out a bag of IV fluids and attached the line into the IV bag. She held it above his head and then placed it on a desk above him. She searched the hospital rooms in search of something to help her transfer John. There was no way she would be able to help bear his weight and get out of there quickly. In one empty room she found a wheelchair that could accommodate John. She pushed the wheelchair out of the room and back at the nurse's station where she had left John. She found him with eyes closed and she began to worry that he was losing consciousness again. She went to go shake him back awake, but he grabbed her wrist before she could. He startled her and she struck him on the shoulder in response. 

"Stop doing that," she chastised him.

He rubbed the area where she hit him and she rolled her eyes, "Oh, don't even act like that hurt. I've seen what you can handle."

"Has anyone ever complained about your lack of bedside manner," he queried with a slight smirk.

She groaned in annoyance and roughly pulled him up to transfer him into the wheelchair. She dropped her pack on his lap and she felt satisfied when he groaned from the load dropping onto his lap. She ignored the muttering he did under his breath and pushed him towards a service elevator located in the back of the unit. She knew the cops would have been alerted during the fight and she needed to get him out of there as soon as possible. 

"I'm curious to know how you're able to navigate through these hallways."

Still focusing on their destination she answered, "I have a good sense of direction."

John was skeptical that she had a natural ability to navigate her way out places she had never been in before. It was an important subject to discuss at the time so he didn't press any further. As long as she knew where they were going and was able to escape, he would bother her no longer. She reached an unused part of the unit and saw the elevator close by. She half ran while pushing John and pushed the down button repeatedly.

"You know that it doesn't make it go faster?"

"Shut up, John."

The elevator's door slid open and she pushed John in first. She looked quickly behind her and saw that no one had seen where they went. She made her way inside and pressed the buttons to close the elevator's doors. She pushed the button for the basement and the elevator slowly made it's descent. It was quiet between them two and Alexa was beginning to process the events that happened in the last twenty four hours.

She had almost been killed, saved the life of a murderer, and helped him steal medical supplies. Now, she was helping him escape from the police. She could have walked away from this at anytime, but she found it difficult to leave when she was always caught in the crossfire. Alexa would wait until things calmed down and she would just drop him off at random corner, leaving him and this craziness behind her. She would make sure that he was able to survive on his own and dismiss him from her care. It was the right thing to do. The logical thing to do.

The elevator reached the bottom floor and the doors slid slowly open. Alexa stuck her head out and made sure that it was safe to wheel him out. She walked backwards out of the elevator while pulling John's wheelchair with her. They must have evacuated the building at this point. The maintenance hallway was clear of staff. She pushed forward and headed towards the parking garage where her vehicle was kept. 

"I'm positive that they have all the exits blocked at this point. Going to your car would be useless," he said. 

She became annoyed, but knew he was speaking the truth. "Well, got any ideas you would like to share?"

"Oh, I thought we had an understanding that you were taking care of the escape plans since you have such a good sense of direction," he joked with her. 

She sighed heavily and stop pushing him towards the parking garage. "What's the plan then, Mr. Wick?"

 

 


	5. Extricate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> See John and Alexa run.

 

 

 

> **_"Drapetomania: (n.) An overwhelming urge to run away"_ **

 

 

 

 

Alexa clutched her steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. She could hear the sirens wailing closely behind her. John was sitting at the passenger side looking out of the windshield and trying to direct Alexa. She sped through the intersection, narrowly missing cars and pedestrians who were unlucky to be on the streets that day. Alexa weaved in and out of traffic to get the police off their trail. John directed her in which roads to take to get to their destination. She followed his instructions as best as she could. She had no interest in being sent to prison for assisting him, even though he assured her he would no tell them she was helping him.

"How much further? I don't know if my car can handle this for too long," she asked him with worry in her tone.

John was silent for a moment and knew they were no close to getting to a safe house. Her vehicle was reaching its limit and they were going to need a new car soon. The only person he could trust and would be willing to give him one would have most likely received a notification of his excommunication from their world. He had to hope that Aurelio was loyal and wouldn't betray him. Even if his bounty was a very handsome sum. They were quickly approaching an intersection and he needed to make a decision fast.

"John, where the fuck do you want me to go," she asked him frantically.

At the very last second, John grabbed the steering wheel and made them swing a hard left towards Long Island. Alexa was taken by surprise, but regained control of the vehicle when John released his hold. She had hope this plan was going to work out better than the previous plan they had when escaping from the hospital. The dull pain she felt on her right shoulder was reminding her that even John is not flawless.

 

* * *

 

Alexa rummaged into her pack and brought out the emergency kit. She hurriedly looked at the contents listed in the kit and found what she was looking for. She pulled out some dressing scissors out and cut the zip ties that had it securely locked up. She pulled out the vial of Epinephrine and placed it in John's hand. She pulled out a syringe and grabbed the vial back from John. She hastily stabbed the needle into the vial and pulled the plunger back until all the medication was pulled out of the vial. She pulled out the syringe and twisted the needle off and locked it. She grabbed John's arm that had his IV port in it.

"You know what you're doing, right," he asked her skeptically as he eyed the liquid in the syringe.

"I'm going to give you something that's going to boost your fight or flight response system," she replied with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Are you shooting me up with Adrenaline?"

She was starting to form a habit of rolling her eyes when she was with this man, "You think you'll be able to take on a police force in the condition you're in right now?"

"If you shoot me with too much, I might not be able to focus," he informed her.

"Well, let's hope you're as good as you appear to me. I think you can handle a teeny tiny boost," she chuckled as she pushed the medication into his system.

John felt the pace of his heart quicken and he found that he didn't feel as tired as he had earlier. He slowly pulled himself up from the wheelchair and grabbed the empty gun. Alexa placed the emergency kit back into her pack and left whatever she did not need discarded on the floor. She stood up and placed herself with her back against John's chest. She grabbed his arm and wrapped it around her waist. She felt her skin tingle at the touch and her heart rate was racing. It was odd, she had not felt that way earlier. She began to breath quite heavily and John was starting to notice it to.

"Are you going to be okay, because I'm going to need you to focus," he told her sternly.

She quickly became aggravated by his doubts in her ability to stay calm. She thought she was doing quite well for herself given the circumstances. She scoffed and gestured for him to get moving. Without another pause John maneuvered her with one arm and held the empty pistol with the other. He walked them carefully towards the entrance of the parking garage. He pushed Alexa out first who saw that indeed the exits were blocked by police and they had their guns drawn.

As soon as they saw her come out, the police withdrew their weapons, and a man began to speak on a bull horn. "Everyone hold your fire!"

John quickly positioned himself behind her and the police quickly drew their guns again when they noticed he had a weapon on her. Alexa grew nervous at the sight and hoped that none of them were the trigger happy kind. She felt the end of the gun at her side and felt a little relief that the closest weapon to her was empty of ammo. He guided them out slowly and made sure that they saw he had Alexa hostage. 

"You all need to back the fuck up or I'll shoot this woman dead," John announced to the crowd pushing the pistol harder at Alexa's side as emphasis that he was not to be taken lightly.

The policeman on the bullhorn signaled for the other officers to redraw their weapons once more. "Okay. Let's take it easy. I know you don't want to hurt the lady. Let's put the gun down and let's talk."

"Clear the exits now! I don't have time for your bullshit!," roared John.

The officer motioned for the exits to be clear and began to speak through the bullhorn once more. "Okay, we cleared the exits like you asked. Please, release the lady. She doesn't have to be involved in this any longer."

Alexa wanted to laugh out loud at that moment. Did they think they were dealing with someone that dumb? If he released her, he would find a bullet in his head. She felt John continue to guide her to her car and ignore the officer's request. The officer was not happy with the turn of events and watched as John took her to a black coupe. He motioned for her to get into the driver's seat and he stepped away from her. That was a bad decision on his part. It all seemed like everything was playing out in slow motion for her as soon as she took one step away from him. She one officer signal to another. Without thinking she pushed John away and felt a searing, burning, pain on her shoulder. Then time seemed to return to it's normal state and she found herself on the floor at his feet.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE," she heard someone shout. The pain in her shoulder was causing her a great deal of pain, but that didn't stop John from dragging her up to her feet.

He pulled open the car door and placed himself inside before pulling Alexa onto his lap. Her breath hitched for a moment having her bottom so close to him, but she didn't have time to contemplate it further. John pushed her into the driver's seat and yelled at her to get moving. He placed the gun pointing at her head and the police had no choice, but to clear the way. They had already mistakenly shot the hostage and didn't want to same the mistake again. Alexa tore out of there as fast as her car would take them out into the city streets.

 

* * *

 

 

The drive felt long to Alexa who was still behind the wheel. Despite her injury she couldn't let John drive. He was still recovering from major surgery and needed to rest up. So, she looked at the directions he quickly scrawled for her on a notepad and followed them. He was asleep in the passenger seat. His breathing seemed to be stable from what she could see. Despite the damage his body might have been through only hours before, he seemed to be doing fine at the moment. She drove past the sleepy little neighborhoods; mom and pop businesses, and came into an industrial district. The place look secluded enough from the population and offered them some anonymity. His directions lead her to what look like a warehouse. She followed a little alleyway to park behind the building. She didn't need to be seen on the streets and have someone call the police. Most likely news stations would make everyone aware of a hostage situation taking place at this time. She parked the car and sat back against her seat, taking a breath of relief. She felt she could finally relax at this moment. 

She had taken quick peeks at him during the drive. She never got to take a moment to fully analyze the man. Alexa was finding that being in close proximity to him was starting to make her feel uncomfortable. The few times that he had touch her it made her heart race and when he pulled her onto his lap she felt a bit like jelly. She didn't know why she was feeling that way around him, but it had to stop. She couldn't continue to be involved in whatever John had gotten himself into. She barely knew the man and she was already going way out of her comfort her zone for him. She thought to herself how screwed up the whole situation was and she had a lot of explaining to do with her family and friends when she returned.

There was a knock on her window and she was met with the end of a shotgun at her face. She quickly threw her hands up in surrender and let out a high pitched yelp. 

"What the fuck are you doing here? This place is private property," a male voice asked her.

She swallowed before speaking and felt her voice start to croak, "I'm just following the directions he gave me."

"Who told you how to get here," he asked her skeptically.

Alexa pointed with her thumb at John who still sat there asleep. The man slowly moved his head to gaze at who was occupying her passenger seat. She hoped that man wasn't trigger happy and accidentally shoot her in the face. She rather liked her face and didn't want it blown clean off her body. She was shot once today and would like to keep it at as a one time thing. The throbbing pain in her shoulder reminded her that she needed to attend to it when she had the time. Realization dawned in his eyes and he immediately withdrew his weapon. 

"God damn it, John," he palmed his face in frustration and then looked towards Alexa, "He brought you here? This guy is always bringing trouble with him," the man said exasperated.

Thinking it was safe to put her hands down, Alexa slowly lowered them, and let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, I'm starting to figure that out now," she agreed.

They stood in quiet silence not knowing what to say to other and avoiding anymore eye contact. She was hoping John would wake up soon and ease the awkwardness of the situation, but in typical John fashion; or at least what she had figured out so far, was that John seemed to do things at his own time. She looked out of the windshield and started to watch the clouds above. The sky was growing dark, pigments of purple and dusky pink colored the sky. Alexa couldn't remember the last time she had a moment to admire such a thing. She had been caught up with work that she didn't enjoy little things like looking up at the sky now and then. The man cleared his throat and she knew he was trying to get her attention. 

"I think we should move you guys inside. I'll open a garage for you, so just pull in there," he instructed before walking away.

She took another glance back at John who was still very much asleep. She shook her head in disbelief before pushing the start engine button of her car. She shifted her car into drive and drove further to the back of the building where the man was waiting for her. She pulled into the warehouse and noticed that there were numerous cars parked inside of it. Some were just bare with no parts, just a metal skeleton. Her eyes adored the exotic cars that were on display; Maserati, Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Aston Martin. Not that her own car wasn't nice and all, there was just something about an Aston Martin that peaked her interests. She continued to scan the rows of cars until she spotted her dream car.

She stepped hard on the brake pedal and made the tires screech at the sudden stop. She placed the car in park and turned off the engine, opened her car door, and stepped out. She walked slowly towards the other vehicle; she thought she wouldn't be able to get close to one again. She grazed her fingertips on the smooth surface and she could of swore that touching it gave her goosebumps.

"Was there a particular reason you stopped the car so suddenly that you had to touch this," she heard John's voice ask her from behind.

She turned to face him quickly with a huge excited smile on her face. "This is a 1967 Shelby GT 500," she exclaimed enthusiastically. He watched he as she inspected the vehicle with a joyous look on her face.

He turned back and looked at her vehicle. She owned the newer model of the throwback classic she was currently vying and he concluded that she was enamored with this certain model. "I'll take it that your a Shelby fan?"

She let out a soft sigh as she continued to smooth her hand over the cold surface, "Back home, my dad used to have one," she took a step back to admire it further, "My parents brought me home in it, my first driving lesson was in it, and I was taken to my first date in it."

He noted her wistful gaze the longer she spent staring at it and caught that she had said _used to._  "What happened to the car?"

"Times were hard for my parents and they couldn't afford to send me to school. I had saved up what I could from summer jobs, but it still wasn't enough. My dad sold it," he caught her tearing up, but she quickly swiped at them, "I promised him that I would work hard to finish my school and my residency in order for me to get his car back."

He didn't feel comfortable in prying into her life. This was someone he barely knew. Granted they had been through a lot in the past day or two, but he knew it was not his place to inquire any further. He walked slowly to her and stood a safe a enough distance beside her as not to intrude in her personal space. She was thankful that he didn't come closer and was also grateful that he felt the need to stand by her. She sniffled a bit and cleared her throat.

He knew he shouldn't let his curiosity get the better of him, but he couldn't help not to notice she had said residency. From meeting her in the clinic she had told him that she was a nurse. Someone in their residency was someone who had graduated with a doctorate. "You said residency earlier. I'm just confused. I remember you introducing yourself as a nurse?"

She chuckled to herself and thought how keen John was to details. Well, he had to be sharp, she thought. Whatever this man did, he probably had to do a lot of data collecting. Being that attentive to detail would make him deadly in his profession, she was sure. "If I didn't know any better, Mr. Wick, I would think you're keeping tags on me," she teased.

He turned to with all seriousness and replied, "I'd like to know what kind of person I'm dealing with when they work closely with me."

With raised brows she countered with, "Oh, so I'm working with you then, Mr. Wick?"

John stepped closer to Alexa and invaded her personal space. She felt put off by it and then began to feel her traitorous heart start beating rapidly against her chest again. Her mouth went dry and her hair felt like it was standing on end. She didn't want him to be aware that she felt intimidated, if that was what she was feeling at the moment, she couldn't tell. Alexa stood her ground and stared back at John.

John smirked and looked down at her. She stood below him at his chest level. She looked quite comical and reminded him of a small puppy trying to appear like a bigger dog. "There were numerous times you could have walked away, Alexa. Back at the clinic you could have ran away. You could have dropped me on the street instead of driving me to the Hospital," she swallowed any counter argument she had because she knew he was right, he continued, "You could have left after they took me in and you would have wiped your hands clean of me."

"I was just doing what any medical person in my position would have done," she sputtered out.

John knew she was lying and decided to press her further, he was taking delight in making her feel uncomfortable. It felt good feeling like the hunter and not the hunted, especially since he spent the better of two days running away from the people who were perusing him. He took a slight step closer and leant forward to get eye level with her. Her lashes fluttered at his sudden closeness and he saw her pupils dilate. "I know you're lying."

Her mouth was agape and she quickly shut it. She was starting to feel the tension in her body and felt herself grow all jelly-like. Alexa was questioning his intentions at this time and she didn't want to act on whatever urge she was feeling right now.

"Am I interrupting something here," the man called from a few feet away. Alexa and John turned to see the man making a sweeping motion between herself and John.

John stood at his full height and walked towards the man, "Hello, Aurelio."

"John," the man named Aurelio said in turn to him.

"I'm going to need your help," John asked and acting like everything was completely normal.

"I had a feeling that's why you're here," Aurelio sighed and motioned for John to follow him.

Alexa watched as the two men made their way to what could be Aurelio's office. She didn't feel herself completely relax until she saw and heard the office door close behind the two men. She pushed herself against the car behind her and slowly let her body drag itself down to the floor. She put her head in her hands, shaking it back and forth. She let out an agitated sigh and then looked up on to the ceiling. She was in deep and she knew it. She began to think to herself how easy it would be to just get in and drive away. So, why didn't she do just that? Why couldn't she bring herself to get up and just go? She took a deep breath in and released it out slowly. She was growing tired from running all day and always being in edge. Her eyelids were growing heavy. She closed her eyes and then minutes passed by before she fell into a deep sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a lot longer than the previous ones. Hopefully this will tie you guys over, until I update again.


	6. Amemneties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John asks a favor of Aurelio. Alexa is set free.

Aurelio almost couldn't wait for John to close the door before he made his feelings known to him, "What the fuck, John? You can't just come over here when you have The High Table's assassins after you and all fucking New York's hitmen too," he shouted as he took staggering steps to his desk, "I'm not like you guys where I fucking have crazy ninja skills to defend myself."

John sat across from Aurelio and listened to him. In all the years that John had known Aurelio, he knew it was better to let the man finish letting out his steam, and then speak afterwards. Why was it always the little ones that were always full of hot air? John watched as he paced back and forth in his office, rambling in Spanish; stopping now and then to look at John in annoyance, before carrying on once again with his pacing. He stopped suddenly and finally sat in his big leather office chair, pulled open a drawer, taking out a decanter followed by two highball glasses. He poured the honey brown liquid into both, taking one for himself, and sliding the other to John.

"It's still Bourbon," he asked John with a questioning glance.

John took the glass offered to him and raised it toward's Aurelio, "My tastes haven't change."

Both men did a silent toast, John sipping his drink, and Aurelio throwing it back. John was used to the taste and the burn. He could see Aurelio grimace as the liquid made its way down. Aurelio wasn't a heavy drinker. He usually did his drinking for special occasions or when things weren't going so well. John had remembered at a time when Aurelio had too much to drink and he found himself in bed with the wife of a mafia head. Needless to say, John had to get him out of that bind, and he hasn't let Aurelio live it down.

"Aren't you selling yourself a little short, Aurelio? From what I've heard you threw a pretty good blow to Iosef," he teased taking another sip of his Bourbon.

Aurelio smirked and poured himself another drink, "That kid needed to be knocked down a few pegs. You don't come to someone's house and act like you're the king of the manor. I wasn't going to let some snot-nosed punk, who had the fortune of daddy being a mob boss, come into my place of business and make demands," he took a sip instead of chugging it all at once, "That shit don't fly with me. You know what I'm saying?"

John was sipping his drink and then nodded his head in agreement. Iosef was a boy who failed to present himself like a man. Iosef was used to getting whatever he dreamed of since his father was Viggo Tarasov. If he didn't get what he wanted, Iosef would take it by force. He was not used to being denied anything he desired. So when he saw John with his Ford Mach 1, he thought he could just buy it off John with no resistance met. He was wrong. Iosef let envy and his selfishness get the better of him. So one night he and his thugs decided to pay John a visit. They thought it would be simple enough. Beat the man, kill his dog, and take his car. The man would learn his lesson and know that no on can deny Iosef what he wanted. Oh, was he wrong though. If he only knew that you don't fuck with John Wick. You don't go teasing a monster unless you're ready for the monster to come calling at your door. Baba Yaga came for Iosef and he paid the ultimate price.

"What kind of help do you need from me, John? I can't offer you much without The High Table knowing. They're watching me," Aurelio asked with a nervousness that he tried to hide, but John could sense from him.

He didn't want to cause any trouble for Aurelio. John just didn't know who else he could turn to. Winston had helped him out as much as he could, but giving a hour start was all he could do for John. He still needed a new suit, weapons, and another form of transportation. He also needed to book safe passage for Alexa. He wanted to make sure that she was no longer going to be a part of this. That word needed to be spread that John had taken her captive and was in no way a consenting party in helping him out. He knew Aurelio had higher connections that worked again The High Table. John intended to take advantage of whatever he could in order to survive for as long as he could.

"I need you to use your connections and I don't want you to give me the runaround bullshit that you give everyone else that asks you the same question," John asked him very straightforward, "I'm not like everyone else, Aurelio."

Aurelio gave John a grave look. He couldn't be too sure that this wasn't going to come back to him and then he'll have to face a punishment from The High Table. Well, whatever they can come up with, he was sure whatever John was capable of, it would be a lot worse. After all, John was a good man. Albeit he thought John should have done things differently given the dire circumstances that he has found himself in, but John was something as close to a trustworthy friend he could have in a world like theirs. He would do his best to help him out as much as he possibly could.

"Okay. What do you need?"

John almost felt surprised that Aurelio was forthcoming with the assistance, but knew Aurelio was loyal to a fault. "I'm going to need a new suit, guns, and a new car."

Aurelio leaned back into his leather chair and held his chin in thought, "You're asking for a lot."

"I know," John concurred.

Aurelio thought silently for a moment and John watched him patiently. Aurelio pulled open a drawer in his desk and John held his breath for a moment. Aurelio pulled a cellphone from it and began to dial a number. A few more moments of silence passed, before Aurelio greeted the other person on the line in Spanish.

"¿Tía Consuela? Es Aurelio. Sí, el hijo de Roberto. Si," Aurelio looked awkwardly from John to his phone, "Tío Tomás, ¿está en casa?," there was another long pause on the phone before Aurelio spoke again. "Hola tio. ¿Todavía sastre? Bien. Enviaré a uno de mis hombres para que te traiga en veinte minutos. Gracias, tito," he said with a smile before pressing the end button to hang up the call.

"I'm guessing things went well," John inquired.

Aurelio gave him an odd look and poured himself another drink, "John, I know you can speak Spanish. Don't think I don't know that," he accused.

Taking a few last sips from his high ball, John made to get up, "It would have been presumptuous of me to assume."

"I normally don't pry into your business, but whose the girl," he asked John cautiously.

Helen had not been dead long and he knew John wasn't the type to go forgetting about someone who meant to him as much as Helen did. Still, he knew this could be a dangerous subject to broach with him. He knew John didn't trust just anybody. The fact that this girl was with him meant something. She seemed to be comfortable around him; given how close they were when he interrupted them moments before. She looked decent in his eyes. The opposite of what Helen had looked like.

"She isn't anyone important. I just need you to spread the word that she is no way involved with me. I took her against her will and made her help me," he corrected.

Aurelio nodded his head and knew that it would be useless to inquire any further. He didn't want to have John angry with him. John turned and walked out of the office. He needed to prep himself for what he had planned tonight. He also wanted to make sure that Alexa knew she was free to go and that it was safe for her to return without any repercussions. Aurelio watched John's back as he walked away before picking up the phone again and making another call.

 

* * *

 

When he came out of the office his eyes immediately went in search for Alexa. His gaze landed on her sleeping figure slumped on the ground against the Ford Shelby. He watched her from the distance between them. Her dark hair covered a portion of her face and she seemed undisturbed by it. He watched her as she breathed steadily in her sleep. He debated with himself if he should wake her. She had been running on no sleep and he knew she was making up for it now. He also knew that every passing moment she spent in his presence meant she was always in danger. He finally resolved himself to walk up to her and wake her from her sleep. He carefully made his way towards her, walking silently so as not to wake her.

He knelt down and studied her face further. For a woman with such a harsh personality, her features were quite the opposite. Her square shaped face was framed with soft, wavy, dark grey hair, that reached the mid of her forearm. She had neatly groomed eyebrows that slightly arched that gave her a features a quite youthful look. He tried to figure out if she was either as young as she looked or deceptively much older than what she appeared to be. She had moments of maturity that was quite surprising at times, but there was also the time where she froze in place when there was body gushing out blood. She looked so lost and innocent then.

Her short and spiky lashes began to flutter as she started to rouse from her sleep. John did not move away from her and waited until she had opened her eyes completely. She rubbed her eyelids and stretched slightly. She felt the tension in her muscles and the discomfort that laying on the ground did for her. She wondered what John was up to and was surprised to find him knelt in front of her staring.

He watched as her almond shaped eyes grew wide in surprise in finding him there in front of her. "I need to run some errands. You'll need to stay here for awhile until I know it's safe for you to return."

She looked at him pessimistically, "Will I even be able to return safely? How do I know that I'll get out of this with my life," she questioned, cynicism dripping from her words.

It was a good question to ask. John trusted that Aurelio would be able to clear Alexa from anymore trouble that he had brought her. He admired her skepticism.

"You have my word," he assured, looking deep into her eyes to convey his message.

She stared back at him for a long time before breaking the eye contact with a blink of her eyes. "So, what am I supposed to do till then?"

John stood and offered her a hand to take. She looked at it questioningly before finally taking a hold of it. He helped her to her feet and beckoned for her to follow him. "Aurelio has some private living quarters in this warehouse. You can use them as you see fit to freshen yourself up. It shouldn't be too long before he let's you know that you're free to go."

She followed a few steps behind him. This was it. She was free. No more running for her life.

"So, I guess this is goodbye then, John," she asked feebly.

He turned to face her slowly and gave her a stern look, "It is."

She slowly extended her hand towards him and he slowly extended his as well. They shook hands and she reluctantly let go.

"I'm sorry for any inconveniences that I've caused you. I hope I haven't made unnecessary worry for you or for anyone," he apologized sincerely.

She was surprised to receive an apology, because John didn't seem like the kind of man that would. "No, you were right. I made my choices and I could have walked away at any time. You don't need to apologize to me," she refused.

He was impressed that she took responsibility for her own actions and continued to lead her to an area off limits to most. He opened the door to a room that contained a couch and a T.V. The room was modestly decorated with touches of an industrial like decor.

"You can use this room to rest," he gestured towards another door,"There's a bathroom there."

She nodded her head,"Oh, that's a relief. I've ignored what's happened to my shoulder for too long."

John took a look at her shoulder and noticed the dried blood on her sleeve. He had forgotten that she had pushed him out of the way of a bullet meant from him. He thought about how crazy she was to potentially take a bullet for someone she didn't even know. He felt a sense of remorse, but remembered that she made her choices, and this was one of them.

"Would you like some help with that before I go," he offered.

She smiled softly and avoided his gaze. Why was he being nice to her? It was making her feel very uncomfortable and it was a feeling that she didn't like. "No, it's okay. I think I can handle it."

He nodded his head and almost seemed hesitant to leave. They stared at each other, both not knowing why the other didn't just turn around and go on like they were supposed to.

John finally decided to break the silence,"Thank you."

She smiled at him and he could see that her smile reached her eyes this time. "It was my pleasure," she responded all too quickly.

She could feel her face flush from embarrassment. Why did she have it to say it like that? A "You're welcome," or a "No problem," would have saved her from making herself seem like a complete idiot. She mentally began to berate herself and hoped that he wouldn't read more into it.

He turned to walk away and she felt a wave relief when he didn't respond back to her faux pas. She seemed in the clear until he turned back to her when he reached the doorway. He cleared his throat and it brought her attention on to him.

"No, Alexa, the pleasure was all mine," he assured her. Her heart quickened. 

He reached for the doorknob and let himself out, closing the door behind him. Alexa walked over to the couch and let herself drop right into it. She waited for her heart to be at peace and waited for her body to stop trembling. Why was she letting herself be effected by that man? He was a killer and someone she should not be involving herself with. What was she expecting to come out from this? She was acting foolish. She needed to come back to reality and go on with her life. She took a few more minutes to herself on the couch before getting up and grabbing her pack where she dropped it. She rummaged through them and grabbed what she needed to clean then dress her wound. She walked slowly to the bathroom, hoping that John would walk back in, but he didn't. 


	7. Suits and Bathtubs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John gets a new suit and Alexa takes advantage of alone time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK!!!
> 
> Sorry for the very late update. I didn't expect I was going to take this long with writing this down. Procrastination is my nasty little friend.

John went to Aurelio's office and found that he was not there. He saw the decanter of bourbon and his highball atop the office desk and decided to take them with him. Holding both in one hand, he made his way out and decided to go in search for his car. He poured himself another glass, he was starting to feel the dullness of the pain all over his body. Bourbon was his go to painkiller. He didn't mess with Opiates. The thought of having to use oral medications was distasteful to him. No, good bourbon was his go to cure for all his ailments.

John strode through the aisles of cars, keeping an eye out for his own vehicle. He reached a part of the warehouse where the cars were looking less pretty and more rundown; he knew he was getting closer. He reached a vehicle covered by a tarp. He took a hold of the other end and pulled the fabric away. There sat his 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 in all it's glory. He had a hell of a time retrieving it back. It wasn't easy and now the car was in bad shape. Aurelio had looked at it with dismay, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. He joked that he would be able to get it back to John by next Christmas, but he knew Aurelio would have it up and running for him sooner than that.

John grazed his fingers over the hood and then trailed them towards the passenger side. He had lots of good memories with this car. Lots of those memories were with Helen. He met Helen with this car, took her on their first date in it, and she took her last car ride in this car with John. He sniffled back a couple of tears threatening to come out. There was no time to commiserate on the past. He needed to stay sharp for the tasks that he had planned out for himself. Recently he had let his emotions get the better of him and now he was dealing with the errors of his way. At the time he didn't really think anything of it, but Winston was right. Once he went after Santino, there was no turning back.

He carefully slid into the passenger seat and decided to wait until the tailor arrived. John didn't usually get a buzz from drinking, but he was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol. Recovering from surgery was a bit of an inconvenience for him at the moment. He wasn't used to feeling this weak. Not for a long time. Years of training and experience made him an efficient assassin. He remembered the old days, when he looked up to Marcus as his mentor, when he wanted to be just like him. John was an impressionable young man back in those days. He was like a sponge that wanted to soak every inch of the darkness the assassin world had to offer. He was ruthless back; a cold-blooded killer who lacked emotion and empathy. He was a man of few words. Barely spoke to anyone who didn't warrant even an utterance of a word from him.

All that changed though, when Helen came into his life. She was the only bright spot in his dark world. She showed him how to be a different man, when he didn't think it was possible. He thought he was so far down the rabbit hole that there was no going back up, but down. For awhile he was complacent with it. Helen showed him that life could be so much more than the life he was living.

He remembered taking her out for coffee, something that he was unlikely to do for anyone. He was nervous; this was something he never had to do. Not to say that he hasn't had any female company in the past, but the encounter were brief with each party making it clear that it was a one time thing. John liked to keep it that way. Made things less complicated. Now John was changing his routine for this woman. Someone he barely knew, but Helen was special though. He knew it the moment his eyes laid on her. 

His thoughts were interrupted when Aurelio and a younger male made their way towards him. John finished the rest of his drink and climbed out of his wrecked car. "I was expecting your uncle, Aurelio?"

Aurelio looked a little frustrated, he had thought the same thing, "I'm sorry, John. My uncle at the last minute changed his mind. Says he has gout on his foot and didn't think he had it in him. He sent his grandson," pointing to the youth next to him, "This is Javier, my uncle assures me that he is just as good as he is."

Javier extended his hand to John who did not take it. There was an awkwardness that was very tangible at the moment. Aurelio saw it fit for him to say something at this point. "Don't mind John, he's a hard ass. Don't take it too personal kid."

"Nah, don't worry about it Tito. This is Mr. Wick. I'm a straight fool for thinking that this man would shake my hand. He is John Wick. It's a dream come true I'm standing close the man. It's all good," Javier replied, not feeling offended in the least. 

Hearing the boy talk made John doubt the kid's skills. He didn't have much time to argue the semantics and decided to give the kid a shot. Beggars couldn't be choosers at this point. "Where should we do this?"

Excited to hear **_The Man of Few Words_** talk to him, the boy excitedly led John back to Aurelio's office. John begrudgingly followed behind Javier with Aurelio trailing behind. John shot Aurelio an irate look and all Aurelio could do was shrug his shoulders.

"My Tito assured me the kid is good. Went as far as to say gifted," he whispered, trying to placate John.

He didn't look convinced,"I'm going to trust you in this."

Javier looked back and gave an assuring smile to John, "You're in good hands, Mr. Wick. I maybe young, but I got skills." John continued to follow Javier back to Aurelio's office and hope that the kid was as good as he had said to be. 

 

* * *

 

Alexa was excited to see a bathtub in Aurelio's private bathroom. There was a shower of course, but what she really wanted was a nice hot bath. So, she quickly stripped down, looking behind her to check if she had closed the door. She noted that it was indeed closed and began to draw her bath. She rummaged through her pack and found her cell phone. She had shut it off when she came into work and hadn't had the time to turn it back on.

She held the power button down until the screen powered up. It took a few seconds to boot up and then her screen filled with messages and missed phone call notifications. Some were from friends, her boss, and one was from her mother. No doubt her "hostage" situation became national news and her mother was alerted. Not feeling up to having a full blown conversation with her. Alexa sent a message to her mother to let her know that she was doing fine and that she would call her later. She cleared all the other messages from her notifications and browsed through her smart phone to look for her music application. 

She pressed onto the musical icon on the screen and her playlist pulled up. She scrolled through and found a playlist with her favorite relaxing tunes. Norah Jones sultry voice filled the room. The music bounced off the tile walls, resonating the sounds throughout the room. She sat at the tubs edge, raking her fingers in the warm water, watching as the tub filled itself. She hadn't had a good hot bath in so long, she was going to take advantage of this time as much as she could.

Once the tub  was filled to her liking, she slowly dipped a toe into the water. It felt almost too hot to the touch, but she knew her body would adjust to the temperature. She stepped into the bath and slowly lowered herself in. She felt her muscles instantly unwind from the tension, she let out a relaxed sigh, and sank herself up to her chin. She watched quietly as the steam vapors waft in the air. She inhaled in slowly and let out a long breath. She felt her body almost become in synced with the bath water. She felt weightless and it was a welcoming feeling.

She splashed water onto her face and felt the sting her skin sting from the temperature. She saw her skin becoming reddened from the heat of the water, but she ignored it. The water was not hot enough to cause her skin severe damage. She would just make sure her body was properly moisturized.

She splashed about as she suddenly remembered that she wasn't in her own tub, in her own bathroom, that she was somewhere else. She was so relaxed that she had forgotten that she was occupying someone else's tub. She slowly sank back into the bath water as she seethed, unhappy with the fact that all her beloved toiletries were back at her apartment.

Alexa wasn't afraid to admit that she was a creature of comforts. She enjoyed the little things that made life bearable to live. She hated to admit, though that she was beginning to be accustomed to luxurious comforts that New York had to offer. Living most of her adolescent life in the country and then being exposed to city comforts in her adult life had spoiled her. When she had first moved to New York, she experienced culture shock. As time went on though, she got used to living in The Big City, and she herself became a New Yorker. 

She bathed herself in the warm water, her fingers touching her skin softly, grazing the valleys of her body. She dipped her head back to dampen her hair as she continued to touch her body. The feeling of her hands on herself and the warm water was starting to arouse her. It had been a long time since someone had touched her body. It was even a longer time since she allowed herself to satisfy her needs. She cautiously peeked at the door and noted that there wasn't a lock on the door. How inconvenient for her. She silently debated with herself if she would risk getting caught to satisfy her aching need. It would be embarrassing to have to explain herself if she got caught. On the other hand she could be wasting precious moments and just do the deed before anyone were to walk in on her.

She bit her lip as she thought hard on her decision. The sensation of her teeth on her bottom lip egging her on to just to do it already. The need between her legs was throbbing and she felt herself succumbing to her carnal desire. She hastily dipped her hands back into the bath water and continued her ministrations. She sighed contently as she caressed her inner thighs. She closed her eyes and tried to manifest an image of male hands replacing her own. She imagined rough and calloused hands stroking her thighs, fingers tracing lazy circles, then one slowly moving across her belly and onto a breast. The hand at her breast caressed her roughly and her hips bucked at the sensation. Water sloshed out of the tub and waking her from her fantasy. She peeked over the edge of the tub and saw the little puddles she made. She slowly dipped herself back into the tub and decided she needed to be more gentle with her touches to avoid getting overly excited.

She slowly leaned backwards to relax against the tub. She placed both hands on her breast and began to massage them. She started out slow and soft again, but became quickly satisfied that it wasn't enough for her. Alexa preferred a rougher and harder touch. She was quickly becoming frustrated, her own hands were doing it for her anymore. It had been so long that she hadn't had anyone touch her. Still, her need throbbed, begging to be relieved. 

Alexa thought to herself how inappropriate this was given her current situation. She knew she needed to just wait it out until she was back in the comfort of her own apartment and safe in her own bed. She huffed and snatched her phone from where it was. Making sure to keep her fingers pre-occupied she tapped some apps on her smartphone and began scrolling through haphazardly. She was absentmindedly looking through her phone and was beginning to feel the throbbing lessen from her most sensitive parts. She looked through on of her social media accounts. Pictures of friends she had lost in touch with long ago, makeup brands, and fashion brands filled her news feed. She felt here vision start to glaze over until her thumb stopped scrolling and her eyes took in the sight before her.

Her eyes drank in the sight of a topless man; toned and fit, skin glistening with either oil or sweat for the photo. Before she realized it, she was licking her lips in approval and felt the throbbing come back with a vengeance. She groaned loudly to herself and began to berate herself of her carnal needs. She clicked on a link that led her to the male model's social media page. There she found thousands of pictures of him. He eyes delighted at the sight.

She bit down on her lip hard and felt herself instinctively grip her thighs together as her center ached. The friction of her thighs rubbing against each other started to excite her. She hastily threw her phone to the floor and heard it skid across the room. She was uncaring at this point what had happened to it and resigned herself to worry about it later.

She glanced at the door once more and noted that it was firmly closed. She reconsidered her decision for a moment, but the feel of her thighs made it clear that there was no turning back at this point. The tension between her and John was started to get to her. It had been so long since she thought about a man in this way. She was uncaring of what these sexual thoughts of him could lead to. He said that she was free and that probably meant that they would never see each other again. What would be the harm in indulging one's self into a bit of a fantasy?  

Alexa submerged herself into the bath water. The heat of the water intensifying the pleasurable sensations she was feeling. Her eyes drifted closed again. She placed both her hands on her thighs and parted them as if someone was doing it for her. Her fingers grazed from the tops of her knees, towards her inner thigh, then caressing them at the end. One hand lightly crept towards her bundle of nerves and began to stroke them lightly. She began to pant slow and softly, picturing rough and calloused hands touching her there. The other hand slowly made it's way to her slit and slipping a finger into her. She let out a satisfied groan and continued pumping the finger inside her. The other hand continued to rub and she felt her self grown damp from the sensations.

Finding that one finger wasn't enough to send her towards the edge, she slowly added another digit, all the while picturing it as someone else's. She tried to conjure the picture of the male model she had looked at her earlier, but the image always seemed to distort itself and change to someone else. She imagined a lean, but toned body riddled with faded scars; dark hair that covered his eyes, and neatly trimmed beard she imagined grazing roughly against her breast. 

Alexa's body was responding well to the friction of her fingers pumping into her. She became greedier still and added another; wanting to be filled. In her mind's eye she wanted the man to take her roughly and hold control over her. She imagined there wouldn't be foreplay between them, the need too great. Her breathing became rapid and she found herself panting wildly as she was getting closer to her release. 

That was until the annoying ringing of her cell phone shrilled throughout the bathroom. She looked aggravatingly towards her cellphone and observed that the sound was not coming from hers. The sound was coming from her pack and she dug her hand inside to find the source. She didn't have to search long to find it. She pulled it out and here eyes looked at it curiously. It finally dawned on her after a moment that this was the cell phone she had stolen from a dead guy. She shuddered at the remembrance and tried to silence it. Her fingers fumbled for a moment and she accidentally answered the call. She freaked out and tried to hang it up. In her fit of anxiety, she threw it against a wall, breaking the phone. The ringing stopped and she found herself relieved that she prevented a disaster happening. She took a deep breath in and closed her eyes to pick up where she had left off in her little fantasy. 

 

* * *

 

John had finished his fitting for his new suit. He was impressed with the kid's skills and knowledge. Javier had even convinced him to stray from his preferred Italian cut suit to a British cut. The boy insisted that John's body would benefit from a British cut. John took the kid on his word and expected the boy to deliver on his promise. The boy couldn't hide his excitement and made the whole fitting session tolerable for him.

"I don't know how you did it, Sobrino, but you've done the impossible. No on has ever convinced John to step out of his comfort zone. That man lives on routine," laughed Aurelio.

John gave a side eye glance to Aurelio who continued to laugh at his expense, "I can step out of my comfort zone."

"When it comes to your tools of choice, but changes in your day to day routine or anything involved wardrobe? Forget about it," he continued to tease.

Aurelio poured a glass and handed it Javier who looked at him like he was crazy, "Uncle, I'm not old enough to drink."

"You earned it. Just drink it, it's bad taste to refuse," he pushed.

John watched as nephew and uncle continued to speak with each other. He felt himself dozing off again. Was it the liquor again or was his body still recovering? He felt his vision grow blurry and he rubbed his eyes to try and clear his vision. It was no use though. His eyelids grew heavy and blinking slowly. He would startle himself awake, not wanting to fall asleep. He still had many other preparations to do. Every time his eyes closed and re-opened them, his view before him seemed to change. All of a sudden he was no longer in Aurelio's office. 

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in his bed, back in his own home. His was startled, knowing something was wrong. He was supposed to be at Aurelio's warehouse. It was not plausible for him to be back in his own home and in his own bed. It had been destroyed by Santino not too long ago. There was little left during the aftermath. Just charred remains of the life he shared with the woman he had loved. But the bed sheets underneath him felt real. They were still that stark white cotton that Helen loved so much. It was bright outside, despite the overcast sky, gray dull light streamed through the vast bedroom windows. He sat up in bed and swung his legs outward from underneath the covers. 

The sound of a shower running brought him out of deducing the situation any further. He removed the duvet blanket away from him and found that he was undressed to his boxer shorts. He slipped into a flannel robe that was laid out for him on the foot of the bed. He tied the bet firmly around his waist and quietly made his way into the bathroom. Steam was wafting in the air and the mirrors were fogged up. John ventured further and followed the sound towards the glass shower in his bathroom.

The glass door was also fogged up, preventing him from seeing who it was. He crept silently closer and listened intently to figure out who the stranger was in his home. The silhouette of a woman slowly became opaque against the glass doors. John found himself grow curious and then feeling anger towards the intruder. He headed towards a cabinet and ruffled through it quietly. He pulled out a gun that was stashed away for emergencies. Helen didn't like the fact that John kept a gun in the house. If she only knew the other hiding places he had stashed some away.

He made his way towards the shower again with gun in hand. He was poised and ready. The water was shut off and John froze mid-step. The glass door swung open and the woman stepped out. John dropped his gun on the floor and grabbed the woman all in one fluid motion. The woman's laughter filled the air and it almost brought John to tears. She wrapped her arms around John and squeezed him tight.

"You're acting like you haven't seen me in months, John. Have a bad dream," she asked with a hint of laughter in her voice.

John pushed her gently away from his body and gazed down at his wife. She was as beautiful as he remembered her. Before she had gotten sick. Before all the chemo treatments. Helen was her healthy glowing self. Had everything that happened to him in the past few months all have been just a nightmare? It had to be! Helen was here, standing before him. Warm and alive. She felt real in his arms. And as he was becoming more aware, Helen was wet and slick from her shower. He felt himself grow hard and Helen took notice right away.

"It's going to be a good morning," she teased as she lead him back towards their bedroom.

He watched her in awe as she lead him by the hand. Droplets of water trailing down her soft body. He had missed her so much. Everything about her. He felt himself straining against the fabric of his boxers and he suddenly felt his hunger for her. At that moment he grew impatient and couldn't wait any longer to get to their bedroom. He pulled her roughly towards him. She giggled and let herself be taken by her husband. Suddenly his hands were all over. He wanted to touch every inch of her. Taste all of her. She responded to his touches with kisses and nips to his neck and shoulders. Her fingers dug into his back and he groaned at the harsh contact.

He brought her against their bathroom wall and parted her legs apart. He placed his hand between her legs and found that she was wet for him already. He slipped a finger in her and was rewarded with a soft mewl escaping from her lips. He pumped his fingers slowly into her and found her very responsive to his touch. She began to pant and grind against his hand. He palmed her clit and began to press firmly on it, massaging with the heel of his hand. He felt her grow wetter in the inside and knew she was ready for him. He slipped his finger out and trailed it across her lips. She licked at it and it aroused him even more. He kissed her roughly, tasting all of her. She placed her hands on his boxers and pulled them off of him.

He grabbed her ass and pulled her up against the wall. She wrapped her legs around him and continued to kiss his neck. He positioned himself near her entrance and held his cock at the ready. She grew impatient and she began trying to maneuver herself to get him to slip inside her. He chuckled at her eagerness and she stared at him seriously.

"John, stop teasin-" she was cut off as he he pushed himself inside her, no holding back.

She bit her lip, cutting her sentence short and her head hit the wall feeling the sensation of him filling all of her. He staggered for a moment. It had been so long since he had her, but had it really been that long? If this wasn't a dream, hadn't he always had her like this? Panting with wanton desire for him. She wrapped her legs tighter around him and it brought him out of his reverie. He slowly started to thrust into her. The pace was achingly too slow for him, but he wanted to savor this moment. She felt so good. She always felt this good.   

Helen buried her face in his neck, clinging onto his shoulder as John's thrusts became deeper and faster, and she writhed against him from the friction. He closed his eyes, concentrating hard not to come soon. Why did Helen feel so good? Somehow she felt better than what he remembered. Her skin imperfectly soft to his touches. She seemed a little more open to him as well. She wasn't a prude per say, but she used to insist in making love in their bed. Fucking against the wall was new to him and her. When he opened his eyes though the woman before him was different. The hair covering the woman's face was no longer a cool brunette, but a smoky grey. Helen always kept her hair short and this woman's hair was much longer. The body he held against the wall didn't have the lean and angular frame as Helen's did. No, the body he held was curvaceous and softer around the edges.

"Helen," he questioned with a hint of fear in his eyes.

The woman panted and peered through her long hair to look at him, "John, I don't think it's nice to call the woman you're fucking the wrong name."

John abruptly stopped thrusting into the strange woman and put the woman back down on the floor. The woman flipped her hair away from her face and John's eyes widened. Alexa stood before him. This was a dream. A horrible dream, he thought to himself.

"Is it really such a bad dream? Does the thought of you and I together disgust you," she asked, seemingly able to read his mind.

He was taken aback and could not find his voice to respond. This had all been a dream. Why wasn't he waking up then? Usually once you are aware that you're dreaming you wake up. 

"Maybe you don't want to wake up. Maybe, John, you're right where you want to be," she answered him again with a seductiveness in her tone.

She stalked towards him like a lioness hunting her prey. John backed himself away from her and felt his back hit the bathroom counter. She looked at him slyly and gave him a winning look. She had him trapped. Not one to feel helpless, especially in such an uncharacteristic situation, John reached for the gun he discarded moments before. He cocked it and aimed it straight to her chest. She paused in her movements and gave him a skeptical look. She continued to stalk him with no cares. Alexa reached John and bent down to his level on the floor. She took his hands in hers and pulled the gun towards her.

John watched as her tongue darted out of her mouth. She licked the tip of the gun to the hammer, before taking the barrel of it into her mouth. She sucked it in and out of her mouth and John felt himself grow hard at the sight. Realizing how his body was reacting to her. John tried his best to control himself, but he found that he couldn't take his eyes off from her. She pulled the gun away from her mouth, a trail of drool from the gun still clung to her mouth.

"John, you want me," she said matter of fact.

John gulped and found the situation so ridiculous. How was he becoming intimidated by this woman? Who was she to him? She was nobody! He pushed her on the the floor and she laughed at him. He couldn't stand her laughter and wanted it to stop. He wrapped his hands around her small neck and squeezed. He watched in horror as her face turned into someone else again entirely. He had his hands wrapped around Santino's neck. He kept squeezing until he the laughter died down and the light of life was extinguished from his eyes.

John found himself panting from the anxiety he was experiencing. He propped himself against the counter again, trying to catch his breath. He started to slap himself to try and get his other self to wake up. He wanted out of this nightmare. The body on the floor started to move again and John found himself feeling something he had never felt before. Fear. Santino grabbed the gun from John's grasp and before pulling the trigger he said to him, "You're always that guy, John"

John woke back up in Aurelio's office, but it was empty. He had fallen asleep. He rubbed his eyes to make sure this was reality this time. He was still holding his half-finished glass of whiskey. Looking at it distastefully, he put the glass down on Aurelio's desk. He got up from the chair and decided to check on Alexa.

The dream he had about her bothered him. It was not right of him to see her in that way. He needed to get rid of her presence as soon as possible. He walked out of his office to find Aurelio and his nephew speaking to each other in Spanish around another car. He didn't stay to hear the snippets of whatever conversation they were holding. He was focused on his destination.

He reached the door and knocked firmly. There was no answer. He knocked again before he opened the door. He stepped inside and noted that Alexa was not in the living area. He heard a low groan come from the bathroom. He quickly made his way there, but hesitated before opening it. He placed his ear against the door and listened intently. He heard nothing for a moment, but then heard Alexa groan again. It sounded like she was in pain. He hesitated once more. Maybe she was okay?

He then heard her say his name and he stormed in there without a second thought. He was not ready for what was behind the door. Alexa was panting in the bath tub filled with water. Her hand curled roughly in her hair and the other between her legs. They both stared at each with no one moving. John swallowed audibly and he watched as realization dawned in Alexa's eyes.

"John, I'm going to need you to get the fuck out and close the door behind you," she spoke slowly.

Without responding to her, John stepped backwards out of the bathroom, closing the door in front of him. It took him a moment to gather himself, but he knew he walked into something that he wasn't meant to hear or see. He turned and stormed out of the room. He made his way to Aurelio and grabbed him the the collar of his shirt. The man looked scared and wondered what he had done to anger John.

"Hey! What's going on," the man asked.

John pointed towards where Alexa was and Aurelio's gaze followed, "I need you to do whatever it takes to get that woman out of here now."

"Hey, I'm doing what I-"

John cut him off, "It's not enough. Get it done, Aurelio!"

He pushed the man against a car and Javier watched amaze out how fast this man switched emotions. After John walked away and entered Aurelio's office, slamming the office door behind me, Javier approached his uncle. "Did you think something happen between those two?"

Aurelio smooth his clothes down and gave himself a moment to compose himself. He stared at one room then to another, before shaking his head. "Who the fuck knows, but I better get started on getting her out of here. Whatever she did to piss off John. I don't want her around longer either."  

 


End file.
